DOOMED DYNASTIES OF EUROPE [Main Title]

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Brief account of the final days of the doomed Romanov, Hohenzollern and Hapsburg dynasties.

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Film begins with footage of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and Franz Josef of Austria-Hungary, together with a guide to the genealogies of European royalty. Film of George V's durbar in New Delhi. Wilhelm II of Germany is envious of his British cousin, and endeavours to build a bigger navy than Britain. He overcompensates for his withered arm by vigorous activity - scenes of him stag hunting, inspecting troops, launching a ship, etc. Wilhelm and Tsar Nicholas II (both absolute monarchs refusing to move with the times) are seen indulging themselves in ceremonial and leisure activities. Scenes of a changing world: the bustle of Paris and London, new industry, but also poverty and protest. Wilhelm visits Sultan Abdul Hamid II of Turkey, and also visits his old ally, Emperor Franz Josef of Austria Hungary ("a nineteenth century man, absolute, obsessed by ritual"). Franz Josef's nephew, Archduke Franz Ferdinand - his subsequent assassination would spark off the First World War, spelling doom for all three dynasties. Only the British (constitutional) monarchy would survive.

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